Pencil is a crime thriller whose plot is based on the 2009 South Korean film 4th Period Mystery.  The writer laces this potentially (not actually) edge-of-the-seat plot with sub-plots that are there more for the purpose of message-giving.  To put it frankly, the message, delivered by a hitherto unimportant character in the climax, ends up coming across as forced.

The narration manages to grab the eyeball in the initial portions.  Set in a college campus, the story begins with a violent incident inside the precincts of this college into which celebs and even the Home Minister die to get their children an admission.  (Don't expect any evidence of its excellence; almost everything that is shown on the screen is miserably inauthentic, hardly fitting with the famed greatness of the institution).  Moments after the murder, the flashback is narrated by the college's best student Siva (played by GV Prakash Kumar), a genius-in-the-making.

We are told that Siva and Nithin (Shariq Hassan), his immoral classmate and son of Tollywood superstar Suresh Babu (should a Telugu superstar always be named as a Babu?), are rivals.  Siva's sweetheart is Maya (Sri Divya), an average student at studies but a crime novel aficionado.  Nithin locks horns with Maya when he harasses a female classmate for days on end.  Siva tries his best to rescue Maya from the evil-doer twice, but Maya would mis-understand his clean intentions.  Siva is unbeatable at studies, is about to give a presentation at a UN body (guess what the topic is?  It's 'Life on Mars'), but Nithin ensures that his two years of hardwork (written as a thesis) is burnt down (no prizes for guessing that this reputed institution is digitally-challenged).  Siva, in a fit of rage, bashes up Nithin and threatens to kill him soon.  As his fate would have it, Nithin is found murdered in classroom.

Siva realizes that the needle of suspicion will point at him because he recently had warned Nithin of dire consequences, in front of many.  Maya, who has of late been secretly in love with him, decides to prove Siva's innocence.  They both now have to find the murderer, who they believe is still in the campus, within the next few minutes, before a third person comes to know of the murder.

Since the plot is essentially borrowed from some other film, the writer needn't be given credit for setting a thriller in a campus.  This might be the first-of-its-kind on the Indian screen, but there is still a something-is-amiss sense as we walk out of the theatre.  The Indianization of the script is palpable from the fact that crass commercialization of education is lashed out.  What was needed was establishing a link between the message and the male lead (and/or the female lead).

GV Prakash Kumar is remembered in the first half only when the romantic track is to be played out.  Such is the role of Siva, the character.

The second half's screenplay is sought to be made multi-dimensional by introducing the track of inspection by ISO's officials (Uravashi entertains for the portions she is seen along with the short Principal, who is sorry that the officer forgets his name).  Three fake National Cadet Corps outsiders loiter in the campus, while a cop (played by Balaji Venugopal) is searching for one Anthony Gonsalves.  Here, there is an attempt to create a comedy of confusion, but the attempts come a cropper.  The fact that most of the actors are unfamiliar only adds to one's woes.

The performances are nothing much to write about.  GV looks too young for a male lead's role.  Perhaps, that's why he was chosen for this film.  Sri Divya's character throws up lot of substance in the second half.  As a sharp reader of crime novels, she plays her role in solving the mystery with her lover boy in tandem.  Abhishek Shankar gives a nice performance.  VTV Ganesh fits the bill.

It might have been made on a shoestring budget, but the technical elements are found wanting.  The cinematography by Gopi Amarnath could have been better.  GV's BGM passes muster, while the songs don't make the cut.

Verdict: An inspired crime thriller with a forced message.  Better dialogues and a link between the message and the hero (and/or the heroine) would have helped.